Mending Broken Hearts
by Goldenstargirl
Summary: Yayoi is tired of Yuiko not noticing him, or anything he does for her, and he's ready to give up on her. While taking a walk to clear his head, the sorrow-filled neko finds someone as lost and broken as himself. YayoixHitomi
1. Bumping Into Destiny

Disclaimer: I don't own the anime Loveless.

It was official. She would never care about him. Never.

Yuiko, his angel, his princess, the one he worships above anyone else in the world, loved another.

It was so devastating! He knew for a long time that there was no way he could ever be with her, but he always tried his hardest despite that.

He did everything he could, tried every single way possible, to make her happy. To attempt to get her to see his feelings, to try to make her understand how much he loved her.

But it was all to no avail.

She never saw him as anything more than a friend, never even gave him half a chance, and now he was left with nothing, but heartbreak, pain, and utter, and complete, misery.

Oh, the irony of it all! The hard, cold, irony! It was almost enough to make him consider suicide, but such a dark thought left him feeling more depressed than before, and he couldn't possibly go through with it.

"I'll just have to live with this agony for the rest of my life."

He said to himself sadly, as he watched Yuiko hug a struggling Ritsuka.

His chest tightened, and he turned away, walking in the opposite direction of the two friends.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it anyway, right? I think I'll go buy myself some pocky or something. I need something sweet right now."

The pink-haired girl finally realized that one person was missing from their small group, and looked around to spot the absent boy.

"Hey Yayoi, where are you going?"

Not bothering to turn around, the cat-boy shouted a response over his shoulder.

"To the store. You guys go on ahead without me."

Ritsuka looked confused, for a moment, wondering why Yayoi was going off on his own, but Yuiko cheerfully bid him goodbye.

"Well, see you later then, Yayoi!"

"Yeah, goodbye."

Yayoi waved to them briefly, before sprinting away.

"Geeze, I'm so bored. I wish Yuiko was with me right now. Gah! I have to stop thinking about her. I absolutely have to!"

Striding slowly down the street, the weary neko amused himself by counting the lines on the pavement. It was a stupid thing to do, and one that was utterly pointless, but a person torn by unrequited love can become numb for a long time. It seemed as if his world had shattered and he chuckled weakly at the notion that he was used to this feeling.

He was still looking downwards, when he felt someone crash into him, and was sent sprawling to the ground.

"Ouch! That really hurt."

Rubbing his head, he heard a worried, frantic voice cry out in a panicked tone.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry! Are you alright? I'm such a clutz; I apologize for bumping into you."

Looking up, he spotted the person who knocked him down.

"Oh, Shinonome-Sensei! Gomen, I wasn't watching where I was going. The blame is all mine. Gomenasai."

Quickly, the woman bent down to help him up, and he gratefully took her hand.

"Still, if I wasn't so clumsy this wouldn't have happened."

"I'm telling you, it's not your fault. And anyway, I'm okay, so there's no harm done."

"Well…I suppose you're right."

Hesitantly agreeing with him, the young teacher squatted once more to pick up her scattered possessions.

"Hey, let me help you with that."

Mimicking her actions, Yayoi grabbed a few pieces of paper from the tall stack that had fallen to the floor.

"Thank you very much. If I remember correctly your name is Yayoi, isn't it?"

"Hai. It is."

The lad handed the papers to the woman, and then gathered up the rest of the sheets as well.

"Arigato. You are a very helpful child, aren't you?"

Despite the fact that he still felt terrible, he was able to flash her a weak smile.

"It was no problem at all. I have nothing else to do, so it didn't take up any of my time, or anything."

"Is that so? Well, if you don't have any other plans, would you mind hanging out with me for awhile? I have some free time as well."

'Is my Sensei asking me out? No, no I'm sure it's just because she has nothing to do either. Geeze, what am I thinking?'

"Well, where do you want to go?"

"Hmm…how about we go out to eat?"

"That's a good idea, but I don't have any money on me."

The virginal cat-woman surprised him a bit, by giving him a playful wink.

"That's totally fine. I happen to have enough cash for the both of us. So, what do you say? Still up for a free meal?"

A huge grin spread across the boy's face, and his heavy heart lifted a bit.

"Of course. Arigato!"

A/N: I wonder if anyone will read this. Oh, well. I'll start working on the next chapter as soon as I can. In the meantime, review, or I won't know that you actually took the time to read this story.


	2. Words Can Say So Much

Disclaimer: I don't own the anime Loveless.

Bright lights shone down on him from the chandeliers in the ceiling. Waiters and waitresses waltzed by holding gleaming trays of exquisite h'orderves. Holding his menu in front of his face Yayoi blinked at the many expensive items on the list not exactly sure of what he should pick.

"Umm…are you sure you can pay for all of this?"

Glancing at him from over her own menu, Hitomi assured the boy that she could handle the check, no matter how high it was.

W-well…in that case, I think I've figured out what I would like to eat.

"Good, so have I."

Ushering a waitress over, they gave her their order, and resumed quiet conversation once she departed.

"So Sensei, what do you do with your time outside of the classroom?"

"A-ano…well I…uh…"

The problem with that question, Shinonome decided, was that she didn't have much of a life outside of school.

Oh sure, she was a pretty great teacher, and enjoyed her job very much, but once the bell rang and it ended, there wasn't much left in the day for her to do.

If she needed to she went shopping, and then headed straight home where she immediately began to grade ever single paper that had been passed in. When she was done with that she cooked dinner and then ate it alone while watching tv. Afterwards she'd go right to bed, looking forward to seeing her students the next day, but dreading the routine schedule.

"There's not much to tell really…"

She could feel her cheeks heating up, and felt very embarrassed all of a sudden.

Luckily Yayoi was able to save her from feeling too bad.

"It's okay I understand. My life isn't much better actually."

"Aha…at least we have that much in common, eh?"

They laughed at that, and people began to stare at them.

"Oh Steve, look at that couple over there. They seem to be having a great time."

"They can't really be a couple Janet, the boy's too young. It must be his sister or something."

"Eh?! Are you sure about that? You know these guys now adays are into older women. It's just as likely that their going out together."

Steve, obviously tired of the conversation already, turned it back to them.

"Well if they are then good for them. But we're on a date too remember? So who cares about other people?"

He leaned forward and kissed his girlfriend firmly on the lips, only to have her take over and deepen the kiss.

Hitomi glanced over at the pair and blushed deeply.

"Wow…they seem to really love each other don't they?"

"Yeah…they do."

Catching the sadness in his voice the woman looked at him, and saw a sorrowful look in his eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just…well, I have this friend, but I think of her as more than a friend sometimes. She, on the other hand, barely even notices I exist, and even though were friends, she hardly ever gives me the time of day. I don't know what I should do anymore. I've tried everything I could think of, and she still doesn't see me as anything but a friend. It's so frustrating! I love her so much, but there's already someone she loves."

"Hmm…well it seems to me that your stuck in the dream of a relationship that will never happen. I'm sorry, but I think you should move on and stop trying so hard to get her attention. If you don't, you could end up pushing her farther and farther away from you, and end up losing her friendship altogether. It would be safer for you to give up on this unrequited love, or you'll just keep getting your heart broken, pinning away for a girl who doesn't love you, and probably never will…oh dear, I might have said too much. Are you okay?"

Yayoi had lowered his head in the midst of her speech, his bangs shadowing his face, and obscuring his expression from her view.

Seconds ticked by, and then at last he spoke.

"I figured out this much after her 12th rejection. I just didn't want that kind of solution because I loved her too much. But your right. Your absolutely right. I don't know if I can let go of her that easily though."

Hitomi smiled warmly and stroked his ears, making him look back at her.

"I know you can do it. You simply have to find enough courage to do what needs to be done. You have to be very brave right now. Letting go of someone you care about is never easy. But think of it like this: You're not losing her, your simply losing a part of her. The part that goes beyond friendship. The one that could never happen. And be lucky to have her friendship. Be lucky to have _her_."

Yayoi was too stunned to speak. In the course of a few minutes, Hitomi had eased ever single one of his worries, stripped him of his uncertainty and given him all the strength he needed to move on from his miserable state of mind.

She had done something that no one had ever managed to do for him.

She had given him hope. Something he had always needed, but could never find.

A small smile appeared on his face, and he said the only words he could think of at that moment.

"Thank you."

A/N: Oh yeah, the waitress will be back with their meal soon, don't think I forgot ^^; That won't be until chapter 3 though, so stick around for more.


	3. It's A Date!

A/N: I finally pulled up an update. Yup, yup. Please read and review if your so inclined.

Disclaimer: Be thankful I don't own Loveless. With my writer's block the manga and anime would probably be a disaster! -_-

They were too distracted to really notice when the waiter returned. Hitomi barely touched her food. She was deep in thought at the moment. Yayoi's situation got her to thinking. She couldn't really remember having similiar problems when she was his age. Oh, sure there were crushes, but nothing serious. The woman could clearly remember telling herself that there were more important things, like studying, doing housework, and buying the weeks groceries. The truth was she was simply too quiet, too shy, too nerdy, too clumsy, too socially awkward, too mousy, too unpopular to have any sort of relationship with another person. Or...that was how she pictured herself anyway. Her self-esteem always had been very low, and the young teacher could tell that the boy sharing a meal with her at an expensive diner had similar character flaws as she did, but was strong-willed and clear-headed, which enabled him to be persistant, determined, and hopeful. That hope had been exstinguished, but Hitomi admired him greatly for being able to stare defeat in the face and give the pain of rejection a firm, but gentle push in the opposite direction.

"If I had been like him, I would probably have more courage now. I wouldn't act like such an idiot around that damn jerk, Soubi either."

The negative thoughts dissolved when she realized that Yayoi had asked her a question.

"Um...yes?" Was her sheepish answer.

"I said, I'm full, do you want to do something after this?"

"A-ano, like what?"

He pondered that for several moments, and flashed her a shy smile.

"It's still pretty early, how about we go see a movie, unless your too busy."

_'Oh, yeah, I have a full schedule.' _The thought was sarcastic and somewhat bitter. Supressing an unladylike snort, Hitomi called a waiter over to pay for the check.

"No, I don't have anything planned. I'm totally free for whatever."

He waited as she payed for the check, feeling guilty as he thought of the wallet he left at home.

"Alright. I hope you have enough for snacks."

"Thought you were full."

A sneaky, almost sly grin crept onto his face and it shocked her to see such an expression on Yayoi's face. When he spoke, his tone was of false innocence.

"I don't recall saying that."

She threw him a 'You're-kidding-me, right?' look, and his expression suddenly turned bashful as he ducked his head, and ran a hand over his dark locks.

"J-just joking. What I meant was there's always room for popcorn."

She blinked at the sudden change, but shook it off. Her students never surprised her anymore.

"Anything else you'd like while we're on the subject?"

"Uh...maybe some nachos, a medium soda, and some Sugar Babies."

"Check, check, and check. And please remember that I'm a teacher and my salary is not that big. Let's take it easy from here on out."

Her tone was gentle, but he blushed with shame anyway. "S-sorry."

She stood up, holding her bag to her side. "Well, let's go."

Why he insisted on seeing a horror/scifi film, is something she simply could not figure out. It was obviously terrifying him to death, while she was more-or-less neutral. The only thing that upset her was when the mad scientist severed his own foot to use it in an illegal experiment. Halfway through the movie, she fell asleep. Yayoi had been trembling, biting his fingernails, and even letting out an occassional girlish scream during a few of the more gruesome scenes, giving adequate cause for many viewers in the audience to fix the boy with dark glares, kick his seat, and even, on one rare occasion, turn around and yell, "Shut up, dumbass!" While Hitomi, for her part, had been very quiet, except to whisper once to the bespectacled lad, "He isn't really going to do that, is he? He is? Seriously? Oh god, gross!" To which he had laughed weakly, and went back to watching the movie between shaking fingers.

The woman awoke sometime near the end of the flick, yawning, and rubbing her eyes. Her right arm was numb and she saw that Yayoi had a permanent death grip on the appendage. Most of the people were getting up and moving toward the exit, before the credits even started. Yayoi, noticing that his companion was now wide awake, let go of her with a nervous laugh and grabbed the mostly empty popcorn container, standing up to throw it in the trashcan, along with some candy wrappers. The golden-brown haired lady grabbed her purse and got up to stretch. Knowing that she had slept during a great stretch of the movie turned her cheeks pink with girlish mortification, but she had a feeling that her student had barely made it through it himself. His complextion was still a shade paler than normal, but other than that, he seemed okay.

They walked out of the theater together, and, as it was rather late, decided to head home. Hitomi offered to walk Yayoi home, but the boy politely turned her down.

Just as they were preparing to go their separate ways, Yayoi grasped Hitomi's hand gently, making her gasp in surprise.

"Thanks for a wonderful evening. I had a lot of fun thanks to you."

Hitomi blinked, bemused. She had not expected so formal a parting.

"Your quite welcome. Maybe we can do this again sometime."

She added the last part casually, but noticed that it made Yayoi uncomfortable. She understood how he felt, it was all a bit awkward for her as well. She flushed a rosey shade of red.

"Maybe. If I can find the time." He added the last bit teasingly, lightly poking at her, nearly-always-empty-schedule.

Her cheeks darkened a shade, but she took the light-hearted jab easily.

"Alright, it's a date."

The effect of her words hit the two of them with the force of a rogue wave crashing on a still beach. The young teacher could have kicked herself for not wording her sentence with more care.

"I-I mean, it's not really a date, its more like an outing with a friend. The two of us hanging out, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know."

In an effort to save them both another uncomfortable silence, the spectacled boy planted a short kiss on her cheek, his mind not registering the action until after it was done.

To disguise his own horror at what he had done, he muttered a quick, "Bye-bye," and took off down the street.

Hitomi was left gawking after him, schocked speechless, and momentarily forgetting to breathe.

When she came to her senses, she shook her head still dazed, internally berating herself for her childish reaction.

In her bewildered state, the only thing she could think to say was, "I guess my students can still suprise me, after all."


End file.
